‘They might say we’re mad but we don’t care’: Pet shop owners live with meerkats, snakes – and even a skunk

Alyss and Andy, and Andy’s daughters Hannah and Izzie, share the house with the animals (Picture: John Aron/SWNS)

A pet shop owner brings a whole new meaning to taking your work home with you – by snuggling up at night to meerkats, a raccoon and a skunk.

Alyss Dickinson, 23, and her boyfriend Andy Rogers, 41, also share their Lincoln home with snakes, tarantulas, lizards, an owl, and a six-legged tortoise.

The animal-mad couple, who also live with Andy’s two daughters, have spent thousands on special diets and vet bills, even splashing out on a £3,000 extension just to house Alex and Serge, a pair of meerkats.

Alyss and Andy share their bed with Lily the skunk and Freddie the raccoon (Picture: John Aron/SWNS)

And the pair, who met through their mutual love of exotic creatures, say they’re not bothered by people that stare when they go for walks with Lily the skunk or Freddie the racoon.

‘People gawp at us when they see us coming, it’s really funny,’ said Alyss.